Tools to cut wire have been popular for centuries, as have been wire twisting devices. These types of tools are commonly used in construction, where wire is used to attach two pieces of rebar prior to pouring slabs or columns. Wire twisting and cutting devices are also frequently used to attach fences to posts, repair holes in fences, and wire pieces of reinforcing bar together when pouring concrete slabs and making concrete posts and ceilings. Taking the ends of a piece of wire and twisting them by hand is an extremely time-consuming and strenuous task.
While the prior art has examples of tools which are designed to cut and twist wire, the current invention is the first to combine in an inexpensive hand tool an ergonomic fit, a method of regulating the output and intake of wire, a protective covering over the wire before it leaves the tool, and an efficient cutting and twisting ability which does not twist the wire inside of the tool body itself and can be accomplished using only hand strength without relying on electrical or battery power.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,836,137 to Contreras (1998) teaches an intermittent rotable pneumatic drive which gathers material around an article for tying, but this machine is expensive, cannot be operated by hand, and would not be convenient to use in a construction setting where a small hand tool would be much more convenient.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,091,264 to Stanford (1963), U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,759 to Wooge (1971), and U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,225 to Schmidt (1984) teach hand tools which would be convenient to use on a construction site, but require as part of their operation that the supply wire be twisted, thereby creating a potential for jamming problems with the supply wire.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,251 to Vader (1996) teaches a hand tool which has a supply of wire which is twisted by the tool and cut by additional pulling on the tool, but this tool is not ergonomically designed, requires an external source of wire, thereby decreasing its ease of use, and requires the addition of a commercially available ratchet spring return twister rather than having the twisting mechanism built into the tool.
The current invention meet the long-felt need for an inexpensive, easy to use hand tool that is ergonomically designed for the human hand, and supplies wire from an internal spool which can easily be refilled or replaced by a user, has a cranking mechanism to extrude wire from the jaws of the tool or wind back in excess wire, has jaws to cut the wire and a groove and steel ball mechanism to twist the wire was the user pulls back on the tool.